Method and system for performing automated telemarketing

ABSTRACT

A method for performing automated telemarketing comprising receiving potential customer data including a telephone number. A telephone call is initiated to the telephone number using an auto-dialing device. Notification is received at a voice platform that the potential customer has answered the telephone call. The voice platform includes a text-to-speech device and a speech recognition device. In response to receiving the notification, a verbal greeting is sent to the potential customer. The greeting is provided by the text-to-speech device. The method further comprises conversing with the potential customer via the voice platform in response to sending the verbal greeting. The conversing includes receiving a message from the potential customer via the speech recognition device. Information is provided to the potential customer responsive to the message. The telephone call is ended responsive to the conversing and telephone call data is transmitted to a database in response to the telephone call ending.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to a method forperforming automated telemarketing and in particular, to a method forutilizing an interactive speech application located on a voice platformto initiate and execute telemarketing telephone calls and dynamic dialogcall-backs to potential customers.

[0002] Computer-based interactive speech applications are widely used intelephone systems to answer incoming calls as well as to perform varioustasks including gathering information from callers, providinginformation to callers, and connecting callers with appropriate parties.Typically, the call flow is activated when the system receives anincoming call, and begins with a system-generated greeting followed, ifneeded, by a list of available options. The application waits for aresponse from the caller and processes the response when received. Theapplication must be able to recognize what the caller said in order todetermine what should happen next. The application performs thisdetermination by converting the caller's speech into a text of distinctwords (speech recognition); analyzing the recognized words grammaticallyand then systematically representing its meaning (natural languageunderstanding); obtaining targeted data based on that meaning'srepresentation from an appropriate online source (informationretrieval); building a text sentence that presents the retrieved data inthe user's preferred language (language generation); and converting thattext sentence into computer-generated speech (speech synthesis ortext-to-speech conversion).

[0003] As interactive speech application technology continuallyimproves, applications for utilizing speech recognition for informationretrieval systems are becoming a more popular resource for consumers. Asan example, “Info-by-Voice for Atlanta” was an automated, voice-operatedtelephone portal that was available to consumers in the metropolitanarea surrounding Atlanta, Ga. who wished to obtain directory assistanceinformation concerning topics such as restaurants, traffic information,stock quotes, weather, sports and business news. By using this service,a caller provided information in response to a series of questions froma pre-recorded voice, and then received a list of names and contactinformation for businesses matching the desired criteria. For example,if a caller submitted a request for Chinese restaurants, the systemmight have identified five places for the caller to consider. In thismanner, an audio information retrieval directory can provide a usefuland convenient resource for local and topical information.

[0004] Telemarketing operations currently employ automatic dialingequipment that can dial a phone number, detect an off-hook answer,determine if the off-hook condition is “live” (vs. an answering machine)and then deliver a prerecorded message or connect the called party to atelemarketer. Typically, the called party understands that the silenceon the line prior to the connection to the message or telemarketer meansthat the call is from a telemarketer. Because of this, the called partyoften hangs up the phone before the telemarketer gets on the line orbefore the prerecorded message is played. In many cases, answeringmachines with brief greetings may trigger the connection so that thetelemarketer hears the recorded message on the answering machine. Thiscan lead to wasted time for the telemarketer. Further, telemarketing islabor intensive and is utilized for both basic and complexproduct/service calls.

[0005] In addition, customer service operations typically involve havinga service representative physically calling or returning a call to acustomer with basic information, perhaps about a service appointment,notification, update or confirmation. This process is labor intensiveand requires that a service representative is available to make thetelephone calls when the customer is available.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0006] One aspect is a method for performing automated telemarketingthat comprises receiving potential customer data including a telephonenumber. A telephone call is initiated to the telephone number using anauto-dialing device. Notification is received at a voice platform thatthe potential customer has answered the telephone call. The voiceplatform includes a text-to-speech device and a speech recognitiondevice. In response to receiving the notification, a verbal greeting issent to the potential customer. The greeting is provided by thetext-to-speech device. The method further comprises conversing with thepotential customer via the voice platform in response to sending theverbal greeting. The conversing includes receiving a message from thepotential customer via the speech recognition device. Information isprovided to the potential customer responsive to the message. Thetelephone call is ended responsive to the conversing and telephone calldata is transmitted to a database in response to the telephone callending.

[0007] Another aspect is a method for performing automatedtelemarketing. The method comprises receiving potential customer dataincluding a telephone number. A telephone call is initiated to thetelephone number using an auto-dialing device. Notification is receivedat a voice platform that the potential customer has answered thetelephone call, where the voice platform includes a text-to-speechdevice. In response to receiving the notification, a verbal greeting issent to the potential customer. The greeting is provided by atext-to-speech device located on a voice platform within a pre-specifiedtime period of receiving the notification. In addition, the telephonecall is transferred to a call center in response to receiving thenotification. Telephone call data is transmitted to a database inresponse to transferring the telephone call to a call center.

[0008] In another aspect, a computer program product for performingautomated telemarketing comprises a storage medium readable by aprocessing circuit and storing instructions for execution by theprocessing circuit for performing a method. The method comprisesreceiving potential customer data including a telephone number. Atelephone call is initiated to the telephone number using anauto-dialing device. Notification is received at a voice platform thatthe potential customer has answered the telephone call. The voiceplatform includes a text-to-speech device and a speech recognitiondevice. In response to receiving the notification, a verbal greeting issent to the potential customer. The greeting is provided by thetext-to-speech device. The method further comprises conversing with thepotential customer via the voice platform in response to sending theverbal greeting. The conversing includes receiving a message from thepotential customer via the speech recognition device, and providinginformation to the potential customer that is responsive to the messagefrom the potential customer. The telephone call is ended responsive tothe conversing and telephone call data is transmitted to a database inresponse to the telephone call ending.

[0009] In another aspect, a computer program product for performingautomated telemarketing comprises a storage medium readable by aprocessing circuit and storing instructions for execution by theprocessing circuit for performing a method. The method comprisesreceiving potential customer data including a telephone number. Atelephone call is initiated to the telephone number using anauto-dialing device. Notification is received at a voice platform thatthe potential customer has answered the telephone call, where the voiceplatform includes a text-to-speech device. In response to receiving thenotification, a verbal greeting is sent to the potential customer. Thegreeting is provided by a text-to-speech device located on a voiceplatform within a pre-specified time period of receiving thenotification. In addition, the telephone call is transferred to a callcenter in response to receiving the notification. Telephone call data istransmitted to a database in response to transferring the telephone callto a call center.

[0010] In a further aspect, a system for performing automatedtelemarketing comprises a network and a voice platform in communicationwith the network. The voice platform includes an auto-dialing device, aspeech recognition device, and a text-to-speech device and includesinstructions to implement a method. The method comprises receivingpotential customer data via the network including a telephone number. Atelephone call is initiated via the network to the telephone numberusing the auto-dialing device. Notification is received at the voiceplatform via the network that the potential customer has answered thetelephone call. In response to receiving the notification, a verbalgreeting is sent via the network to the potential customer. The greetingis provided by the text-to-speech device. The method further comprisesconversing with the potential customer via the voice platform and thenetwork in response to sending the verbal greeting. The conversingincludes receiving a message from the potential customer via the speechrecognition device and the network, and providing information via thenetwork to the potential customer responsive to the message from thepotential customer. The telephone call is ended responsive to theconversing and telephone call data is transmitted to a database inresponse to the telephone call ending.

[0011] In a further aspect, a system for performing automatedtelemarketing comprises a network, a call center in communication withthe network and a voice platform in communication with the network. Thevoice platform includes an auto-dialing device and a text-to-speechdevice and instructions to implement a method. The method comprisesreceiving potential customer data via the network including a telephonenumber. A telephone call is initiated via the network to the telephonenumber using the auto-dialing device. Notification is received at thevoice platform via the network that the potential customer has answeredthe telephone call. In response to receiving the notification, a verbalgreeting is sent via the network to the potential customer. The greetingis provided by the text-to-speech device within a pre-specified timeperiod of receiving the notification. The telephone call is transferredto the call center via the network in response to receiving thenotification. Telephone call data is transmitted to a database inresponse to the transferring.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Referring to the exemplary drawings wherein like elements arenumbered alike in the several FIGURES:

[0013]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for performingtelemarketing utilizing an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0014]FIG. 2 is a database layout of an exemplary contact databaseutilized by an embodiment of the present invention, including bothgeneral and application specific data;

[0015]FIG. 3 is a database layout of an exemplary telemarketingapplication database utilized by an embodiment of the present invention;and

[0016]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a process flow for an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] An exemplary embodiment of the present invention utilizesauto-dialing and/or out dialing equipment empowered with an automatedinteractive speech enabled voice application to deliver a conversationaldialog to a potential customer. This conversational voice applicationgreets and engages the called party, peaking their interest and invitingtheir participation in a business message or promotion. The speechtechnology, involving speech recognition and natural languageunderstanding methods, permits a dynamic conversation with the calledparty that determines the interests of the called party and then tailorsthe conversation to the messages heard from the called party. In thisapproach, the called party, a potential customer, is more likely to givethe calling service an opportunity to deliver a message and to listen torelated offers. Additional information may be pulled from a centraldatabase to assist in the conversation. A transfer to a customer servicerepresentative is also possible if desired or needed at any time duringthe call. By engaging the called party, outbound dialing resources aremore productive and the number of successful marketing calls increase.For example, if the called party indicates they are not interested, thecall ends and the calling platform's port is reapplied to a new call.Called parties that show interest can hear a message that fits theirneeds based on their responses to qualifying questions. This may lead tothe ability to quickly strike an interest with the called party and makethe “cold call” a “desired” call.

[0018]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for performingtelemarketing. The exemplary system includes a voice platform 110, adata center 108, telephones 104 and a call center 106, with relatedequipment and service representatives, all connected to a network 102.Telephone calls to potential customers located at the telephones 104 aregenerated by auto-dialing equipment included in the voice platform 110.Data relevant to each telephone call is retrieved as needed from one ormore databases located on the voice platform 110 and/or at the datacenter 108. If interest exists, or more information is requested, thecalled party may be connected to the appropriate call center 106 forfollow-up with a customer service representative. This connection to acall center 106 may be performed by bridging at the voice platform orthrough redirection in the network 102.

[0019] The network 102 may be any type of known network including, butnot limited to, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a global network (e.g.Internet), a voice over Internet protocol (VOIP), a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), and an intranet. The network 102 may be implemented usinga wireless network or any kind of physical network implementation knownin the art. One or more of the voice platform 1 10, the telephones 104,the data center 108 and the call center 106 may be connected to thenetwork 102 in a wireless fashion. In addition, one or more of the voiceplatform 110, the data center 108 and the call center 106 may bephysically located in the same geographic location or they may be atthree different geographic locations as depicted in FIG. 1. In anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, a PSTN is utilized toprovide communication between the voice platform 110, the telephones 104and the call center 106; and the Internet is utilized to providecommunication between the voice platform 110, the data center 108 andthe call center 106.

[0020] The voice platform 110 is the foundation on which thetelemarketing voice application is developed and deployed. It executesthe commands and logic specified by the respective telemarketing voiceapplication, provides the speech processing capabilities (e.g., speechrecognition, text-to-speech), interfaces to databases at the data center108, interfaces to the call center 106 and provides system management.Any voice platform 110 known in the art may be utilized in an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention (e.g.,Tellme Studio from TellmeNetworks, Inc. and Freespeech from HeyAnita, Inc.). In an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, speech recognition is provided by apurchased software package (e.g., Nuance Version 8.0 by NuanceCommunications, Inc. and OpenSpeech Recognition from SpeechWorksInternational, Inc.). Similarly, text-to-speech capability may beprovided by a purchased product (e.g., Speechify from SpeechWorksInternational, Inc.). The voice platform 110 also includes access to acontact database of potential customers as well as a telemarketingdatabase with application information to relay to the potential customerdepending on variables such as past buying habits and geographiclocation. The components of the voice platform 110 may be located at thesame geographic location as depicted in FIG. 1 or they may be located indifferent geographic locations and communicate via the network 102.

[0021] For example, an embodiment of the present invention may betailored to call all customers who have purchased treadmills fromparticular sport stores within a specified six-month time period. Thecontact database would include customer data (e.g., telephone number,name, and purchase information). The telemarketing application wouldinclude phrases such as “I hope you are enjoying the treadmill” and “Iam calling today to tell you about a special offer on a weight machine.”A language model would also store expected phrases (e.g., responses ormessages) from the potential customer and a pointer to phrases in thetelemarketing database that correspond to the potential customerresponses, or messages. At the end of the telephone call, the contactdatabase could be updated with information such as “never call again”,“call again in three days”, “send information about weight machine”, or“call sent to call center.”

[0022] The success of speech recognition depends on properly predictingwhat the called party will say. At least two approaches, known in theart, may be utilized to predict the set of responses expected from thepotential customer. One approach is to use a deterministic directedlanguage model that involves having a person, or a team of people,looking at the application and related data elements, predictingresponses to all phrases and writing out all expected responses. Theseexpected responses along with data in the telemarketing database areutilized to create a language model. Another approach is a statisticallanguage model approach where responses made to the questions asked by alive telemarketer are collected from a large number of telemarketingcalls and processed through a voice analysis tool to create a grammarmodel and related meanings. Any voice analysis tools (e.g., as providedby Nuance Communications or by SpeechWorks International, Inc for CallRouting) known in the art may be utilized with an embodiment of thepresent invention. This process of data collection and language modeltuning may be performed on a periodic basis to keep the respectivelanguage models up-to-date. The language model is stored on a storagedevice located on the voice platform 110 or at the data center 108.

[0023] The telephones 104 depicted in FIG. 1 include conventionallandline telephones and wireless mobile phones. The telephones arelocated in a variety of geographic locations (e.g., homes, cars,offices) and in communication with the voice platform 110 via thenetwork 102. Also depicted in FIG. 1 is a call center 106 for sales orservice. In an exemplary embodiment, the call center 106 housestelemarketers that are ready to talk to potential customers viatelephone when a telephone call is routed to the call center 106 fromthe voice platform 110. FIG. 1 also includes a data center 108 incommunication with the network 102. In an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, the data center 108 includes a storage devicecontaining application databases and legacy computer systems thatprovide input to the telemarketing voice application located on thevoice platform 110. For example, an event occurring in a computer system(e.g., a customer purchase is recorded) at the data center 108 maytrigger a customer service related telephone call (e.g., a follow upcall on sales satisfaction or a product survey) to be initiated by thevoice platform 110.

[0024] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a storagedevice is also included in the voice platform 110 to store the languagemodel. The storage devices located at one or both of the voice platform110 and the data center 108 may be implemented using a variety ofdevices for storing electronic information. It is understood that thestorage devices may be implemented using memory contained in a hostsystem located at the data center 108 or at the voice platform 110 orthey may be separate physical devices. The storage devices are logicallyaddressable as a consolidated data source across a distributedenvironment that includes a network 102. The physical data may belocated in a variety of geographic locations depending on applicationand access requirements. Information stored in the storage devices maybe retrieved and manipulated via the voice platform 110 or via a hostsystem located at the data center 108. The storage devices include thetelemarketing database and the contact database as well as the scriptingand language models.

[0025] An alternate embodiment of an exemplary system for performingautomated prepaid account renewal includes one or more multimodaldevices in communication with the voice platform 110 via the network102. Multimodal devices may be utilized to apply the most appropriatemedium for the task at hand (e.g., voice, visual data). For example, forapplications performed primarily by a user in motion, speech may be thebest medium to use to communicate with the user. Alternatively, if auser requests a listing of all restaurants serving a particular type offood and in a particular city or location, a visual list of allrestaurants fitting the category may be presented to the user. If thelist only includes one or two restaurants, the list may be relayedverbally to the user. In addition, telemarketing calls may be receivedby a multimodal device with visual content that complements the voicedscripting. The visual content may include a visual display of options,features and/or packages for the product or service. In anotherscenario, a visual reminder message is left pertaining to the renewal ofservices or products. A variety of multimodal scenarios may beimplemented with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention andthe scenarios will vary based on user requirements for particularapplications.

[0026] An example of an application that may be performed utilizing anexemplary embodiment of the present invention is presented below. Theexample telemarketing voice application is an application to callpotential voters (i.e., potential customers) to inform them about thestands on particular issues taken by candidates running for electedoffice. In addition, the application allows a potential voter to leave amessage, or comment, for the candidates. An example dialog follows:

[0027] Called Party: Hello. (or Hi or Yes)

[0028] System: Hello, how are you?

[0029] Called party: Just Fine. (or Okay or “who is this?”)

[0030] System: I'm calling on behalf of “Vote America”. Can I answer anyquestions you may have about the upcoming Bob Jones-Sally Smith House ofRepresentatives election this August 20th?

[0031] Called Party: Sure.

[0032] System: I know their voting records and I can tell you where theystand on specific issues. I can speak to taxes, schools, nationaldefense, water quality, the environment, medical benefits and thecountry's energy plans. Which topic is of interest?

[0033] Called Party: I am interested in schools.

[0034] System: Are you interested in the stand Bob Jones has taken,Sally Smith has taken, or both?

[0035] Called Party: etc.

[0036] System: <Later> Would you like to leave a comment for eithercandidate?

[0037] Called Party: I would like to tell Bob Jones not to increasetaxes.

[0038] System: I will forward your message to Bob Jones. Do you have anyother questions or comments for the candidates?

[0039] Called Party: Yes. Take me off of your call list, but you cansend me information through the mail.

[0040] System: Okay, we will take you off of the call list and use themail to keep you informed about the candidates in the future. Thank you.Goodbye.

[0041]FIG. 2 is a database layout of an exemplary contact databaseutilized by an embodiment of the present invention to perform theexample dialog shown above. The contact database may be located on astorage device at the voice platform 110 or at the data center 108. Thecontact database includes general contact attributes 202 and contactprofiles 212. The general contact attributes 202 include name, phonenumber, address and zip code. The general contact attributes 202 andcontact profiles 212 are utilized to determine which candidates andcorresponding issues to discuss with the called party. The contactprofiles attributes 212 include age, marital status, job type,interests, family size, family age, income, political party, educationand religious affiliation. The general contact attributes 202 andcontact profile attributes 212 may be utilized to collectnon-application specific information about a potential client that maybe useful in any application. The contact database also includes a callback status attribute 204 that is utilized to store information such as“don't call back” or “call back in a day.” The date for next callattribute 206 stores a date (e.g., in mm/dd/yy format) for the next callto the potential voter. The previous call attributes 208 include lengthof previous call, subject of previous call and outcome of previous call.The previous call attributes 208 may also include records of earliercalls. This information may be utilized to determine the information andtype of delivery for the next telephone call to the called party.

[0042] The telemarketing application specific contact data attributes210 in the contact database include party affiliation, voted in lastelection, income bracket, age, follow-up call and follow-up information.The telemarketing application specific contact data attributes 210 alongwith the contact profiles 212 and the general contact attributes 202 maybe utilized to determine the messages relayed to the called party by aparticular application. For example, if the called party did not vote inthe last election, the telemarketing application located on the voiceplatform 110 may be programmed to include a message about the importanceof voting or may be programmed to offer the called party assistance ingetting to a polling location for the next election. In addition, theapplication specific contact data attributes 210 may reflect informationabout a follow-up call or follow-up information in response to a requestfrom the called party for either a follow-up call or follow-upinformation. The contact database will contain different attributesdepending on the specific application being implemented by the voiceplatform. The contact database will provide information to thetelemarketing voice application (e.g., phone number, zip code) and willreceive information to store in the contact database from thetelemarketing voice application (e.g., follow-up call, follow-upinformation).

[0043]FIG. 3 is a database layout of an exemplary telemarketing databaseutilized by an embodiment of the present invention to perform theexample dialog shown above. The telemarketing database may be located ona storage device at the voice platform 110 or at the data center 108.The telemarketing database includes a zip code attribute 302. Dependingon the zip code of the called party, information for a differentcombination of candidates, offices and election dates may be offered tothe called party. In an alternate exemplary embodiment, other attributevalues are stored and utilized to match a geographic area to aparticular election (e.g., area code of telephone number, address).Referring to FIG. 3, each zip code attribute 302 may correspond to morethan one candidate's attribute 304 and office attribute 306. The officeattribute 306 for a particular zip code 302 is the key into the issueattributes 310. Each issue attribute 310 value includes one or moresentences describing the stand taken by the one, two, or more candidatesrunning for the office contained in the corresponding office attribute310. Example issues include: schools, taxes, national defense, medicalbenefits, energy policy and the environment. In addition, thetelemarketing database depicted in FIG. 3 includes a comments attribute312 to reflect comments for the candidates received from the calledparties.

[0044] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, thetelemarketing database is utilized along with the contact database inthe voice application to carry on a conversation with the called party.The contact database is utilized to determine who to call and to tailorthe message delivered. For example, the contact database depicted inFIG. 2 could be utilized to cause all registered republicans living in aparticular zip code to be given one set of information, all registereddemocrats living in the particular zip code a second set of information,and all unregistered voters a third set of information. In addition, thecontact database could break down the information delivered (e.g., theissues and candidate stands) based on income bracket and/or age. Thetelemarketing database includes the information to be delivered to thecalled parties. The voice application with its grammar or language modelincludes all expected responses from the called parties and pointers tothe telemarketing database entries to perform the next action based onthe responses or messages received from the called party. In anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, the next action mayinclude sending the call to a call center, reciting a scripted answerfrom the telemarketing database, recording information received from thecalled party or ending the call.

[0045] Any application requiring a telephone call to be made to deliverinformation to a called party may be implemented by an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. For example, an embodiment of thepresent invention may be utilized to perform customer serviceoperations. Telephone calls may be auto-dialed to perform functions suchas reminding customers of a service appointment or requesting anappointment, and confirming a delivery date and time. Telemarketing“cold calls” may also be implemented using an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention. The list of called parties may be determinedbased on data contained in a contact database.

[0046]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a process flow for an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. At step 402, a potential customeris identified based on data contained in a contact database. At step404, the potential customer is called using auto-dialing equipmentlocated at the voice platform 110. The telemarketing voice applicationgreets the potential customer at step 406 in response to the potentialcustomer answering the telephone 104. The voice greeting to thepotential customer is generated by a text-to-speech conversion devicebased on data contained in the contact database. In an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, the telemarketing voice applicationtransmits a greeting within a pre-specified time period of receiving anotification that the customer has answered the telephone. If thispre-specified time period is relatively short (e.g., one second)customer hang-ups may be avoided. At step 408, the application asks thepotential customer a question, or makes a statement to the potentialcustomer using data contained in the telemarketing database and atext-to-speech conversion device. A response, or message, is receivedfrom the potential customer at step 410. The response is interpreted bya speech recognition device and compared to the list of expectedresponses listed in the language model. A determination is made at step412 to see if the response leads to another question. This determinationis made and the next question indicated by a telemarketing voiceapplication, using data contained in the contact database, the languagemodel and the telemarketing database as input. If the response does leadto another question, the question related to the telemarketing databaseas indicated by the telemarketing voice application is asked of thecalled party at step 408. If the response did not lead to anotherquestion, step 414 is performed to determine if the response leads to ascripted answer.

[0047] If the response does lead to a scripted answer, step 416 isperformed. Again, the determination is made and the scripted responseindicated by the telemarketing voice application, using data containedin the contact database, the language model and the telemarketingdatabase as input. If the response does lead to a scripted answer thenthe scripted answer contained in the telemarketing database andindicated by the telemarketing voice application is read to the calledparty at step 416. If the response did not lead to a scripted answer,step 418 is performed to determine if the response leads to ending thecall. The determination is made in a manner similar to the one describedin reference to step 414. If the response does lead to ending the call,then the scripted response indicated by the telemarketing voiceapplication is read to the potential customer at step 420 and then step422 is performed.

[0048] At step 422 the databases are updated based on informationexchanged during the call. For example, the contact database may beupdated with a data value to indicate not to call this potentialcustomer back or to indicate that this potential customer would likewritten materials to be sent. Alternatively, the telemarketing databasemay be updated to reflect comments were received from the potentialcustomer. At step 424 the telemarketing voice application, for thisparticular telephone call ends. If the response did not lead to endingthe call, as determined at step 418, step 426 is performed and thetelephone call is sent to a call center 106. Being transferred to a callcenter 206 at step 426 may occur for a variety of reasons such as: thetelemarketing voice application located on the voice platform 110 cannotunderstand the response, or message, received from the potentialcustomer; the potential customer has requested to be transferred to acall center 206, and the telemarketing voice application has determinedthat the next step is to transfer the telephone call to the call center.

[0049] As described previously, an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention includes a telemarketing voice application, located on a voiceplatform 110 for calling and greeting a called party, offering specificinformation, understanding the called party's interest and selection(s)and then delivering the requested information or executing follow-upaction. Possible follow-up action may include additional informationdelivered then or later, setting a follow-up appointment for a salescall or service, or connecting the called party to a sales or servicerepresentative. The dialog between the voice enabled application and thecalled party may utilize structured prompts paired with appropriategrammars that understand the varied responses of the called party. In anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, call reports and calllogs are stored on a database located on a storage device included inthe voice platform 110 or the data center 108 to provide performancemeasurements. The call reports and call logs database may reflect calloutcomes such as “don't call me again”, or “connect me to customerservice”. These call logs and call reports may also be monitored bysupervisors to help ensure quality. In addition, both recorded voiceprompts for static scripting and synthesized voice (TTS) prompts fordynamic scripting may be employed by an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. Further, multiple language offerings are possible byadapting the scripting and grammars for each language.

[0050] An embodiment of the present invention may be utilized as aback-end to an existing telemarketing platform. The potential customeris called using the auto-dialing device. Once the telemarketing voiceapplication has determined that a potential customer (i.e., not ananswering machine) has answered the phone, it generates the greeting tothe potential customer. While the telemarketing voice application on thevoice platform 110 is greeting the potential customer, it is alsotransferring the telephone call to a telemarketer at the call center106. In this manner, the potential customer will not hear silence on theline prior to the telemarketer getting on the line. This may lead to areduced number of potential customers hanging up the telephone beforethe telemarketer can market the product or service.

[0051] An exemplary embodiment of the present invention may lead tosupplementing or replacing sales or service personnel for performing‘call backs’, generating telemarketing sales calls, delivering targetedinformation and securing confirmations or sales leads. This may lead toa lower cost per call and for a more consistent message to be sent toeach potential customer. In addition, a conversational exchange betweenthe automated system and the called party will “understand” if thecalled end is “live” or an answering machine. This allows for feweranswering machine calls and correspondingly, more “live” calls to betransferred to the call center 106 and thus may lead to higherproductivity for sales and service personnel. Also, the ability toprovide automated conversation, without the time gap signaling to thecalled party that the call is from a telemarketer, may lead topresenting the telemarketing content to more prospective customers.

[0052] As described above, the embodiments of the invention may beembodied in the form of computer-implemented processes and apparatusesfor practicing those processes. Embodiments of the invention may also beembodied in the form of computer program code containing instructionsembodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, harddrives, or any other computer-readable storage medium, wherein, when thecomputer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, thecomputer becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. Anembodiment of the present invention can also be embodied in the form ofcomputer program code, for example, whether stored in a storage medium,loaded into and/or executed by a computer, or transmitted over sometransmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling, throughfiber optics, or via electromagnetic radiation, wherein, when thecomputer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, thecomputer becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. Whenimplemented on a general-purpose microprocessor, the computer programcode segments configure the microprocessor to create specific logiccircuits.

[0053] While the invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted forelements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. Inaddition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situationor material to the teachings of the invention without departing from theessential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the inventionnot be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best modecontemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the inventionwill include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appendedclaims. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. do not denoteany order or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. areused to distinguish one element from another.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for performing automated telemarketing,said method comprising: receiving potential customer data including atelephone number; initiating a telephone call to said telephone numberusing an auto-dialing device; receiving notification at a voice platformthat said potential customer has answered said telephone call, whereinsaid voice platform includes a text-to-speech device and a speechrecognition device; sending a verbal greeting to said potential customerin response to said receiving notification, wherein said greeting isprovided by said text-to-speech device; conversing with said potentialcustomer via said voice platform in response to said sending, whereinsaid conversing includes: receiving a message from said potentialcustomer via said speech recognition device; and providing informationto said potential customer responsive to said message; ending saidtelephone call responsive to said conversing; and transmitting telephonecall data to a database in response to said ending.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein said ending includes transferring said telephone call toa call center.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said transferring occurswhen said message includes a request to be transferred to said callcenter.
 4. The method of claim 2 wherein said transferring occurs whensaid providing information includes instructions to perform saidtransferring.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein said receiving a messageincludes: receiving input voice data at said voice platform; andutilizing said speech recognition software to translate said input voicedata into text data and meaning.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein saidproviding information includes: accessing a language model to correlatesaid text data with an entry in a telemarketing database; utilizing saidtext-to-speech software to translate said entry into output voice data;and communicating said output voice data to said potential customer. 7.The method of claim 5 wherein said providing information includes:accessing a language model and a contact database to correlate said textdata with an entry in a telemarketing database; utilizing saidtext-to-speech software to translate said entry into output voice data;and communicating said output voice data to said potential customer. 8.The method of claim 7 wherein said providing information furtherincludes transmitting visual data to said potential customer.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 wherein said providing information includes: accessinga language model to correlate said text data with an entry in atelemarketing database; utilizing said text-to-speech software totranslate said entry into output voice data; and communicating saidoutput voice data to said potential customer.
 10. The method of claim 9wherein said providing information further includes transmitting visualdata to said potential customer.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein saidpotential customer data is received from a contact database.
 12. Themethod of claim 1 wherein said conversing is multi-lingual and alanguage is chosen based on the language spoken by the potentialcustomer.
 13. The method of claim 1 wherein said sending a verbalgreeting occurs within a pre-specified time period of said receivingnotification.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein said pre-specified timeperiod is less than one second.
 15. The method of claim 1 wherein saidtelephone call data includes telephone call logging data.
 16. The methodof claim 1 wherein said telephone call data includes instructions aboutcalling back said potential customer.
 17. The method of claim 1 whereinsaid telephone call data includes instructions about sending saidpotential customer follow-up information.
 18. The method of claim 1wherein said telephone call data includes comments from said potentialcustomer.
 19. The method of claim 1 wherein said telephone call data isreviewed by a supervisor.
 20. The method of claim 1 wherein saidtelephone call is a marketing call.
 21. The method of claim 1 whereinsaid telephone call is a follow-up or reminder call.
 22. A method forperforming automated telemarketing, said method comprising: receivingpotential customer data including a telephone number; initiating atelephone call to said telephone number using an auto-dialing device;receiving notification at a voice platform that said potential customerhas answered said telephone call, wherein said voice platform includes atext-to-speech device; sending a verbal greeting to said potentialcustomer in response to said receiving notification, wherein saidgreeting is provided by said text-to-speech device within apre-specified time period of said receiving notification; transferringsaid telephone call to a call center in response to receiving saidnotification; and transmitting telephone call data to a database inresponse to said transferring.
 23. The method of claim 22 wherein saidpre-specified time period is less than one second.
 24. A computerprogram product for performing automated telemarketing, the computerprogram product comprising: a storage medium readable by a processingcircuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuitfor performing a method comprising: receiving potential customer dataincluding a telephone number; initiating a telephone call to saidtelephone number using an auto-dialing device; receiving notification ata voice platform that said potential customer has answered saidtelephone call, wherein said voice platform includes a text-to-speechdevice and a speech recognition device; sending a verbal greeting tosaid potential customer in response to said receiving notification,wherein said greeting is provided by said text-to-speech device;conversing with said potential customer via said voice platform inresponse to said sending, wherein said conversing includes: receiving amessage from said potential customer via said speech recognition device;and providing information to said potential customer responsive to saidmessage; ending said telephone call responsive to said conversing; andtransmitting telephone call data to a database in response to saidending.
 25. A computer program product for performing automatedtelemarketing, the computer program product comprising: a storage mediumreadable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for executionby the processing circuit for performing a method comprising: receivingpotential customer data including a telephone number; initiating atelephone call to said telephone number using an auto-dialing device;receiving notification at a voice platform that said potential customerhas answered said telephone call, wherein said voice platform includes atext-to-speech device; sending a verbal greeting to said potentialcustomer in response to said receiving notification, wherein saidgreeting is provided by said text-to-speech device within apre-specified time period of said receiving notification; transferringsaid telephone call to a call center in response to receiving saidnotification; and transmitting telephone call data to a database inresponse to said transferring.
 26. A system for performing automatedtelemarketing, the system comprising: a network; and a voice platformincluding an auto-dialing device, a speech recognition device and atext-to-speech device in communication with said network, said voiceplatform including instructions to implement the method comprising:receiving potential customer data via said network including a telephonenumber; initiating a telephone call via said network to said telephonenumber using an auto-dialing device; receiving notification at the voiceplatform via said network that said potential customer has answered saidtelephone call; sending a verbal greeting via said network to saidpotential customer in response to said receiving notification, whereinsaid greeting is provided by said text-to-speech device; conversing withsaid potential customer via said voice platform and said network inresponse to said sending, wherein said conversing includes: receiving amessage from said potential customer via said speech recognition deviceand said network; and providing information via said network to saidpotential customer responsive to said message; ending said telephonecall responsive to said conversing; and transmitting telephone call datato a database in response to said ending.
 27. The system of claim 26wherein said network is a public switched telephone network.
 28. Thesystem of claim 26 wherein said network is the Internet.
 29. The systemof claim 26 wherein said network includes a public switched telephonenetwork and the Internet.
 30. The system of claim 26 wherein saidnetwork includes a voice over Internet protocol.
 31. The system of claim26 wherein said sending a verbal greeting occurs within a pre-specifiedtime period of said receiving notification.
 32. The system of claim 31wherein sad pre-specified time period is less than one second.
 33. Thesystem of claim 26 further comprising a call center in communicationwith said network and wherein said ending said telephone call includestransferring said telephone call to said call center.
 34. The system ofclaim 26 further comprising a data center including a storage device incommunication with said network and wherein said database is located onsaid storage device.
 35. A system for performing automatedtelemarketing, the system comprising: a network; a call center incommunication with said network; and a voice platform including anauto-dialing device and a text-to-speech device in communication withsaid network, said voice platform including instructions to implementthe method comprising: receiving potential customer data via saidnetwork including a telephone number; initiating a telephone call viasaid network to said telephone number using an auto-dialing device;receiving notification at the voice platform via said network that saidpotential customer has answered said telephone call; sending a verbalgreeting via said network to said potential customer in response to saidreceiving notification, wherein said greeting is provided by saidtext-to-speech device with a pre-specified time period of said receivingnotification; transferring said telephone call to the call center viasaid network in response to receiving said notification; andtransmitting telephone call data to a database in response to saidtransferring.